This invention relates to a method for decontaminating metal components which have been contaminated on their surfaces with radioactive substances. More particularly, this invention relates to such a decontamination method for radiation contaminated metals, which method is especially suited for the decontamination of the surface-contaminated metal wastes produced in nuclear plants such as nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel concentrator, etc.
Radiation contaminated metal wastes including equipments, apparatus, tools, pipes and such are yielded from nuclear power plants at the time of periodic inspection or various kinds of repairing or reconstruction works. Currently, these radioactive metal wastes are packaged in drums after cut appropriately and stored in the plants. The number of such radioactive waste metal-packaged drums turned out in a year is on the order of 150 to 200, but their cumulative amount is increasing every year. When reactors presently used in the nuclear power plants are scrapped and dismantled, which is expected in not the distant future, the amount of the radioactive metal waste alone would reach several ten thousands of drums. It is therefore strongly desired to make an effort for remarkably reducing the radiation contaminated metal components by safely decontaminating them.